William Thompson

DAVID USES WHAT HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH TO ACCOMPLISH HIS CALLING

1 Samuel 17:40 (NLT2) He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

David
was fresh out of the field attending the sheep when the call came.

How
many of you didn’t have formal training when you got the call?

DAVID’S
PREPARATION DIDN’T COME ON THE BATTLE FIELD BUT IN THE SHEEP FIELD.

DAVID KEEP THE FLOCK’S WELFARE ON HIS MIND

A shepherd’s primary responsibility was
the safety and welfare of the flock.

A shepherd would direct the flock to an area of green grass

A shepherd would keep
a watchful eye out for poisonous
plants, other animal and serpents.

Shepherds would even sleep
near the sheep. The shepherd knows that there is a need to be close
to the animals to protect and provide
for them.

Sheepherders were on call around the
clock.

HAVE ANYONE EXPERIENCE THAT PASTORING IS 24/7
JOB?

PROTECTINGTHEM FROM PREDATORS WAS A MAIN OBJECTIVE

PROVIDING A HEALTH CARE FOR THE SHEEP WAS AN OBJECTIVE

THE SHEPHERD MUST SHEARING
THE FLOCK

Unlike other animals that shed their hair in the spring, many breeds of sheep must be shorn – have their fleece cut off with shears or clippers.

Metaphorically, the term “shepherd”
is used for God, especially in the Judeo-Christian tradition (e.g. Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34), and in Christianity
especially for Jesus, who called himself the GoodShepherd. The Ancient Israelites were a pastoral people and there were
many shepherds among them.

THEY HAD A
FULL GRASP ON PSALMS 23.. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

NOT ALL SHEPHERDS HAD THE SAME
GIFTEDNESS. THERFORE WE MUST KEEP FULL KNOWLEDGE OF OUR AREAS OF GIFTEDNESS.

YOUR CALLING IS TIED TO
YOUR GIFT(S)

EACH MAN
HAS BEEN GIVEN TALENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR ABILITIES.

Matthew 25:15 (KJV) And unto one
he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man
according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

Why was the king so hard on the man who had not gained more
money? He punished the man because

(1) He didn’t
share his master’s interest in the kingdom;

(2) He didn’t
trust his master’s intentions; and

(3) His only
loyalty was to himself. Like the king in this story, God has given you gifts to
use for the benefit of his kingdom.

Do you want the kingdom to grow?

Do you trust God to govern it fairly?

Are you as concerned for the welfare of others as for
your own?

If you can answer yes
to these questions, you are faithfully using what he has entrusted to
you.

David picked up what he was familiar
with 5 stones (1 Samuel 17:40). … David didn’t need 20
stones but just as many as he could handle.

It was David’s skills and abilities
that he learned as a shepherd boy, which God
maximized with Grace, which gave him the unexpected advantage over his enemy.

EACH
STONE DAVID PICKED UP HAD A DESIGNED PURPOSE:

He had one for faith,

one for obedience,

one for service,
and

one for his prayer life

one for the Spirit of
the Lord which meant he possess the Right Attitude.

The first smooth stone that David picked up may represent the firstpillar
of the gospel, the principle of faith.

David
demonstrated great faith in God as
he took on the giant named Goliath. Verses 33-37:

The second smooth stone that David picked up may be the stone of obedience.

Obedience is the second of the gospel.

Through
obedience we exercise the principle
of faith. David was in the right place at the righttime,
because he obeyed his father.

If
David had not obeyed his father, Israel would have been under siege for a
longer period of time. Let’s read verse 20 of I Samuel 17:n

The third smooth stone that David picked up may well be the pillar of Service.
Without service the stones of faith and
obedience will have no power or strength.

Service is the action
associated with faith and the implementation of obedience.

When
David arrived at the army with the food for his brothers, he heard Goliath
issue his challenge and watched as the soldiers all shrank from their assigned
duty. In verses 26-29 David asked some very pointed questions to the soldiers
and of his brothers. Essentially David ask them why they weren’t doing their duty, their service to their country and family.

Too
many pastors have given in to the Lukewarm
of just going through the motion of leadership without truly believing that
with God all things are possible.

In
verse 28 his own brother scolds him
and says that David is proud
and boastful. To which David
replies in verse 29 and 32 exhibiting his willingness to serve:

Yes I have been criticized for being different!

The fourth smooth stone that David picked up may represent the pillar of an active
prayer life. As David went to meet Goliath he had a prayer in his heart. Let’s read verse 45: 1 Samuel 17:45b
(KJV) but I come
to thee in the name of the LORD of
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

The final smooth stone
that David picked
up was the pillar of right attitude.

He
not only had faith, obedience, service, and prayed, but
he had the proper attitude in the
Lord.

Because
of his faith, obedience, service, and prayer life with God and the right attitude in the Lord David was able to defeat his enemy.

You
know as well as I do that the Holy Ghost
cannot stay with us and guide us if we are not “behaving” ourselves wisely. In
order to have the right attitude you
need the Holy Ghost to aid us in
behaving wisely. 1 Samuel 18:14 (KJV) And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.

What
are your Goliaths?

How
many Goliaths have you faced in your
ministry life?

How
many times have you heard the words of Goliath “I defy the armies and the
God of Israel this day”?

Modern day Goliaths may be in the form
of a fear of others opinion of you, fear that people will not follow without
you compromising, or fear of a disconnect between you and the congregation age
wise.

TODAY’S
PASTOR’S FACE FEARS:

Not
being able to reach a multi-generational
church

A
generation of people who question
everything

A
generation that demands more from the
church

A
generation who values have shifted from
church centered to self centered.

A generation
who worship time.

THE
GOLIATH OF DAVID’S TIME STATED THE CONDITIONS OF THE BATTLE:

If
he won, the Israelites would become slaves to the Philistines.

If
the Israelite challenger won, the Philistines would be slaves to the
Israelites.

Modern
day Goliaths issue the same conditions with their challenge, if they win we
will become slaves to a behavior that will not allow us to live out the Great Commandment
or the Great Commission.

If
Goliath wins the church will given into the worldly ways?

Remember
you have been called to make a
difference.

Remember
you have been called to the battle.

Remember
you have been call for such a time
as this.

IF
IT WAS NOT FOR YOUR CALLING YOUR GOLIATH WOULD WIN.

But
because of your calling you have not been given the spirit of fear but of love power and sound mind.

You
have been called to this conference
to go back and make a difference.

When
David first got the call to face Goliath he first attempted to arm himself with
the modern weaponry available to him.

He
put on the helmet and coat of mail of
Saul. Then he strapped the sword
of Saul around his waist. But David was
not familiar with these protections, nor was he able to move about in them
very well. Note his words at the end of verse 39:

“…And
David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them.
And David put them off him.”

Instead
of using the armor of Saul, David turned to something that was familiar to him and something that he
had proved before. Let’s read verse 40:

“And
he took his staff in his hand and chose him five smooth stones out
of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s
bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and
he drew near to the Philistine.”

So
armed with a shepherds staff, his sling in his hand, and five
smooth stones in his shepherd’s bag David went to meet Goliath. We know the
result of that meeting.

May
I also suggest that the method that David selected was proven gospel which is written
in the word of God the bible. The
gospel based principles have been proven and tested on Goliaths of the past and present and will work in the future?